The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tattine, by Ruth Ogden

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Title: Tattine

Author: Ruth Ogden

Posting Date: November 20, 2008 [EBook #1816]
Release Date: July, 1999

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TATTINE ***

Produced by Dianne Bean

TATTINE

by Ruth Ogden

[Mrs. Charles W. Ide]

CHAPTER I. TROUBLE NO. 1

Whether you happen to be four or five, or six, or seven, or even older
than that, no doubt you know by this time that a great many things need
to be learned in this world, everything, in fact, and never more things
than at seven. At least, so thought little Tattine, and what troubled
her the most was that some of the things seemed quite wrong, and yet
no one was able to right them. All her little life Tattine's Mother had
been setting things straight for her, drying every tear, and unravelling
every tangle, so that Tattine was pretty downhearted the day she
discovered that there were some things that were quite beyond even her
Mother's power to alter. It was on a lovely June morning that
Tattine made the first of her unwelcome discoveries. She was feeling
particularly happy too, until she made it. She was sitting up in an
apple-tree, sketching, and doing it very well. She had taken only a few
drawing-lessons but had taken to them immensely, and now with one limb
of the tree for a seat and another one for an easel, she was working
away at a pretty chime tower, that stood on a neighbor's land.

Down on the grass beneath her Betsy and Doctor were lying. Betsy was a
dear, homely red-and-white Laverack setter, and Doctor, black-and-white
and better looking, was her son. Doctor's beautiful grandmother Tadjie
was lying, alas! under the grass instead of on it, not very far away.
It was a sad day for the dog world when Tadjie left it, for although she
was very old, she was very beautiful up to the last with a glossy
silky coat, a superbly feathered tail, and with brown eyes so soft and
entreating, they fairly made you love her, whether you were fond of dogs
or no.

Well, Tattine was sketching away and was quite absorbed in it, but
Doctor, who was little more than a puppy, thought it